Review

Since its rise to prominence on the PS2, the Dynasty Warriors series has made its name by throwing players into the midst of historically-themed battles, where they would then proceed to hack-and-slash their way through massive hordes of enemies. This "one versus many" gameplay has served the series well through six numbered releases, as well as the major side series Samurai Warriors, which replaces the Three Kingdoms-era China setting with feudal Japan.

Now Koei is branching off in yet another direction, taking on the theme of the Trojan War as told by The Iliad and other epic works. But unlike most other stories told of the Trojan War, which focus on only the final year of the war as told by The Iliad, Warriors: Legends of Troy aims to tell the complete story. And it aims to do so with more realism than in some of the previous games in Koei's flagship franchise; I'm told this will be the first Warriors title to feature blood, and that it will feature more "brutal, aggressive, and gritty" combat.

That's not to say the game will be entirely realistic, however. We're talking about a story steeped in mythology, after all, and I'm told we can expect the appearance of a variety of mythological creatures…as well as the occasional divine intervention, given that the gods played such a significant role in Greek culture.

But Koei does plan for the combat to be more tactical than the simplistic hack-and-slash of earlier games. This is in part because enemies will employ historically accurate tactics and formations, which will require a more thoughtful approach. For example, a player might need to use his shield to bash his way through a line of soldiers who would be impervious to basic sword attacks. And characters will also be able to pick up objects in the environment, like dropped enemy spears or even boulders, to use as weapons -- a reportedly common practice, according to TheIliad.

Though primarily a singleplayer experience, the game will include modes where four players can join up online. But unfortunately, that's about all Koei's willing to say about it. The game's not due for almost another year -- the projected release date is Spring of 2010, for PS3 and 360 -- and so Koei isn't even showing actual gameplay at this point, just a brief and brutal-looking trailer. But I think it's a fairly safe assumption that it'll look and play a lot like the games that Koei's been known for throughout the past eight years or so.